Governments and central banks all over the world have printed and spent tens of trillions of dollars in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Has this been money well spent? Not at all.
But Keynesians and statists (cough Paul Krugman cough) think governments should spend even more than they are right now. With interest rates at historical lows, it is more than likely that nations will be approving astronomical spending bills, even during the recovery phase in our post-coronavirus world.
So, how much has the planet spent this year?
According to the Institute of International Finance (IIF), global debt is projected to hit an all-time high of $277 trillion by the end of the year. Between January and September, international debt spiked by $15 trillion, and developed nations represented about half that amount.
The United States is poised to top $80 trillion by the year’s end, up from $71 trillion in 2019. The eurozone’s debt surged $1.5 trillion to $53 trillion in the first nine months of 2020.
“There is significant uncertainty about how the global economy can deleverage in the future without significant adverse implications for economic activity,” the IIF said in its report.
More from Reuters:
Developed markets’ overall debt jumped to 432% of GDP in the third quarter, from a ratio of about 380% at the end of 2019. Emerging market debt-to-GDP hit nearly 250% in the third quarter, with China reaching 335%, and for the year the ratio is expected to reach about 365% of global GDP.
…
Among developing economies, Lebanon, China, Malaysia and Turkey have seen the biggest increases in non-financial sector debt ratios so far this year.
Emerging market governments’ declining revenues have made paying down debt “much more onerous” even amid record low borrowing costs across the globe.
Through the end of next year, some $7 trillion of emerging market bonds and syndicated loans will come due, about 15% of which is denominated in U.S. dollars, IIF said.
Who can even fathom these numbers? Better yet, how will this debt ever be paid off? It is a house of cards waiting to collapse.
Debt, Debt and more Debt, that is what the Banksters want, that is how they make billions per year in every country. I have retirement income of just $37,000 with a 783 credit score. The Banktsters have issued me over $75,000 in unsecured credit cards, on 20 different accounts. I have been floating $10,000 in Debt on zero interest credit cards for the last 3 years. I just love using the Banksters money and paying zero interest, while earning cash back. But, I do realize this will come to an end in Sept 2021, as I will pay it all off before any interest accrues. These Debt levels are crazy, as I would never use credit cards if there was interest charged. I am not even sure I will use them to earn cash back as it is really such a small amount and if you are not able to pay off the balance in full or you forget and miss a payment the charges could cost you more than a year of cash back funds. Next year I may just use cash and not have to worry about payments to anyone.